Socrates - the Ideal Educator

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In Euthyphro, Socrates is shocked to learn that Euthyphro is prosecuting his own father for murder under the pretense that it is the pious thing to do. Rather than debate the “what” of the act (is it pious or impious), Socrates simply asks, “what is the pious, and what is the impious…?” (Euthyphro, 6) While the question asks “what?”, it is really a question of “why” the nature of piety is the way it is. Euthyphro first answers that piety is “to prosecute the wrongdoer” (Euthyphro, 6), however Socrates does not find this sufficient and questions the integrity of the answer. Euthyphro responds with a second answer, which Socrates also calls into question. This process repeats itself until Euthyphro produces five answers, and while Socrates questioning reveals errors in each answer, they gradually become more refined. The dialogue concludes with an inconclusive definition of piety, however it served as a masterful learning experience for Euthyphro. He entered the conversation under the false assumption that he was knowledgeable on the subject of piety (a subject which he planned to use as reasoning to convict his father of murder), however a clever line of questioning revealed his ignorance. By forcing Euthyphro to question his own understanding of piety, Socrates effectively guided him to the path of true wisdom, as he was able to see that his surface knowledge of piety was incomplete, and the only way to uncover the true definition is through questioning the “why”.

Thus, I believe Socrates would serve my child better than any other educator when it concerns the ability to spark a desire for knowledge within my child. While everyone else is focused on the “what”, Socrates focuses his students on the “why”. This emphasis on learning the “why” is the key to exposing a child to the beauty of true wisdom, and that exposure is the key to kindling a desire for knowledge within them. While I believe this quality to be the most paramount with regards to the education of my child, I also believe the educator of my child should be an overall good influence on their moral development. While it is important to kindle a desire to learn within a child, it is of equal import that the lessons being learned are of moral upstanding. Every parent desires for their child to be morally grounded, and a large part of their moral development happens in school. Socrates himself was considered to be a man of high moral standing, and as such he taught his pupils important lessons such as, “violence is not to be expected of those who exercise reason; such conduct belongs to those who have strength without judgment.” (Xenophon, 75) On the charge of corruption the youth, Socrates was claimed to have exposed his pupils to evil ways, turning them away from their family, religion, etc. However, in response to this allegation, Socrates asked of Meletus if he had known “of anyone who has stopped worshipping the gods…or who has substituted arrogance for humility, or extravagance for economy…” (Xenophon, 45) To this, Meletus simply responded, “no”. If the man responsible for brining Socrates up on charges of corrupting the youth was unable to name a youth whom he had corrupted, I would argue that Socrates moral standing as an educator was sound.

Thus, I would not forbid my child from being a pupil of Socrates; in fact I would encourage it. Between his ability to inspire passion for education in his pupils and his moral grounding as an educator, I cannot possibly think of another more qualified to educate my child.